Fire and Ice
by Dare2Dream13
Summary: It strikes eight times, and with it chaos ensues. The Curse has its sights set on Anna, who has yet to gain control over her powers; even her sister won't be able to end the fiery destruction that she'll cause. However, someone can...Elsa is welcomed to the Elemental Society, but Anna is the least of their worries; it's time to defeat the darkness and change the world. Part 1 of 3.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hi! Thank you for clicking on my story. I am new to fanfiction and this is my first post; please keep that in mind while reading. I hope this isn't too short, but it **_**is**_** a prologue, not a chapter. By the way, this is not my original prologue, and it takes place before the events of Frozen. The rest of the story is set just after Elsa and Anna's parents die. Enjoy!**

The streets of the kingdom by the fjord were dark, but they weren't uninviting. The moon shone in its full brilliance overhead, offering just enough silver light down below to illuminate the streets and put the village under a sleepy trance. Not many people were out, it was almost midnight after all, but those who were had the intention of going back home very soon. All except two.

They were strangers, walking slowly through the town under hooded cloaks. Occasionally one would mutter something to the other, only to be returned by an unclear reply. One was tall and cast a discomforting aura, but the other was shorter and obviously curious as it glanced around fervently, speaking excited, unintelligible words as the other figure mumbled back with frustration.

If you were watching very, very closely as the two strangers made their way through the village, you could have judged by the general direction in which they were walking that they were about to walk off the side of the small cliff that the castle sat upon. However, when they reached the edge they stopped, and after some discussion the small figure moved behind the taller one.

What happened after this would have been unclear, horrifying, or simply odd to an outsider. Lucky for you, reader, you are not an outsider. You have been entrusted with this story, and your duty is to listen well and learn of what _really _happened. The information you've heard before is invalid and I suggest that you forget about it altogether while reading this. The events listed below are a recount what really happened on that moonlit night.

The two figures did indeed walk off the cliff, one after the after, and the fact that they survived should not surprise you. These strangers are far from ordinary, though one of them does not yet know it.

I'll let what happens next remain a mystery to you. We will return to this part of the story later. As for now, let's get to the main component. I hope you enjoy and listen closely. You just might be fully accepted into the Society.

**A/N: Thanks again for reading! A review would be great, but please keep unkind comments to yourself; however, I welcome any constructive criticism you might have. I'll try to update this story every day at the least, although it will most likely take two or three. Have a great day!**

**-Dare2Dream13**


	2. Growing Fear

**A/N: I've given this story some thought and I've decided that I'm probably going to take it in a different direction than the one that I'd originally intended. Therefore I might change the prologue later on, but for now I think I'll keep it the way it is. Feel free to leave suggestions or constructive criticism. Enjoy!**

The sun had already made much progress in climbing across the sky; sunrise had been over a long time ago and all color had left the clouds, leaving the normally blue sky a blank, humid gray. The wind was cold and blew across the fjord boldly, creating ripples in the water as the air grew damper, clearly hinting at rain.

Elsa glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. 11:16 a.m.; she'd been listening to it tick for quite a while now. There was really nothing else to do. She had no one to communicate with, not after her parents' death. Occasionally Anna would knock on the door, asking for entrance, but Elsa had noticed that her little sister's efforts to interact face-to-face had grown feebler. The thought made Elsa sigh and wish that things could be as they were before the accident, but Elsa knew that for her protection, and everyone else's, she had to be kept isolated. Now that she gave it more thought she realized that being shut up in a room all day might be losing its effectiveness; the floor was covered in a thin layer of frost and ice was creeping up the walls in thick bands. Snowflakes hung in midair, and whatever Elsa touched, sometimes even when she had her gloves on, instantly became encased in a sheet of ice. She was surprised that no one had noticed yet, as her attempts to keep the frost from creeping through the crack under the door were slowly beginning to fail.

Suddenly, five loud raps landed on the door in rapid succession, causing Elsa to jerk her head up in surprise.

"Elsa? It's me."

Elsa couldn't help but think, _Of course it is, who else would it be? _but she immediately felt ashamed for it. Anna was her sister. She just wanted them to spend time together, and Elsa didn't blame her. In fact, she wished the same thing. What harm would one moment outside do? Somehow Elsa knew that it would help, but at the same time she was too afraid of what might happen.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she wondered if Anna was still at the door. What if she could feel the cold and got suspicious? But then again, the whole castle seemed chillier now that the king and queen were gone.

Walking to the window, Elsa observed the dim fjord below her as a thin drizzle showered the water, the droplets creating dimples in the surface as they fell from the clouds. How nice it would be to walk in the rain, all alone, but Elsa knew she couldn't, not with her powers this out-of-control. Even now, having thought about how much she would like to be with her sister again, how much she missed her parents, a few snowflakes were spiraling around her. Instinctively Elsa tugged on the bottom of her gloves as if they would fall off and become lost if she didn't, but slowly she trudged back to her bed and returned to listening to the clock in overwhelming grief.

It was the eighth time this week that Anna had slowly made her way down the hall, footsteps silent, and stopped in front of the door at the end, the one painted with snowflakes and swirls. She had lost hope of being acknowledged quite some time ago, but even so Anna didn't give up on her attempts to see her sister.

She knew she had to end these visits for the sake of her powers; being ignored only increased her suspicion that all of this was her fault. Maybe she really _had _done something to make Elsa angry. She'd never truly entertained the thought until just recently. This, of course, caused her to worry about what on earth could have happened, and she had learned that whenever she got agitated, sparks began to fly from her palms and she'd have to clench them as tight as she could in order to keep everything under control. Losing her parents especially didn't help; now something new would happen, which usually resulted in a scorch-mark or two: whenever Anna got angry or stressed or even scared, she would choose an object and glare at it, forcing all of the blame for her feelings onto this inanimate item. Somehow it helped with her outbursts of emotion, but lately whichever object she put to fault would be engulfed by flames. This scared Anna even more than the thought of her sister hating her for something she wasn't aware of doing, so eventually she figured that she should begin, little by little, decreasing the number of times she visited Elsa every week; that is, if visiting is what you'd even call it.

Anna knocked five times, waited, and then said, "Elsa? It's me."

No reply.

Anna sighed and stood there, fists clenched in disappointment and aggravation. Maybe Elsa would understand if Anna told her about her powers…. No, it was too dangerous. It wasn't like Elsa could sympathize, that was impossible for anyone…right? Anna had to be one-of-a-kind.

She shivered, suddenly wondering why it was so cold. Anna reached out to knock on the door again, but she concluded that her efforts were worthless. She wasn't getting any attention and hadn't for the past ten years. It was about time she got used to it.

Anna tried to clear her mind on the way back to her room, but even so her thoughts brought her down as her feet dragged along on the floor and sparks swirled around her fingertips.

**A/N: It'll get more interesting soon, I promise! Please leave a review, they motivate me to keep going. I'll definitely be updating again tomorrow. This story will probably be completed quickly since I'm currently on summer break. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Lone Stranger

**A/N: Hello again! This is the chapter in which things begin to get exciting. It could also become my prologue; I haven't decided whether or not to change the one I already have. If you could make a suggestion that would be great! However, keep in mind, especially while reading later chapters, that this takes place a century before Elsa and Anna are born. Enjoy!**

Charity awoke with a start; she wasn't sure why her restful slumber had been disturbed, but she wanted to find out.

_Scrape, thump, scrape, thump._

Charity looked around nervously, suddenly sure that this was the sound that had awoken her.

_Scrape, thump._

It almost sounded like someone coming down the road….

A clap of thunder broke out from the sky, making Charity jump and bite her tongue. She stared, eyes narrowed, at the stretch of beaten path in front of her. She didn't see anything suspicious, so what was that noise? Charity blamed it on an owl hidden in the tree that she was sleeping under.

_An imaginary owl, _she told herself. _Go on, get up and investigate._

Charity didn't listen to her instinct. Instead she remained where she was, under the towering oak, now pondering whether or not it was safe to be sleeping here with all this lightning….

_Scrape, thump, scrape, thump._

This time Charity leapt to her feet, adrenaline pumping as she made out a silhouette on the horizon, barely noticeable under the strained light of the half-moon.

Another _scrape _and _thump _sounded, but this time they were followed by a pained moan, clearly audible to the girl standing under the tree, clutching a dagger in her hand so firmly it slowly began to leave an imprint in her skin.

"Who's there?" Charity called, trying her best to blend in with the shadows. She was dismayed and even more flustered when she didn't get an answer in return, but only a particularly loud thump and a grunt. Okay, so this was obviously a person, and they were obviously in pain, only what had happened? Charity really wanted to find out so that she could avoid it herself, whether it had been robbers or wolves or even something else. This part of the country was flat and devoid of any expression other than the tall grass that stretched as far as the eye could see and the dirt road leading from one town to the next. There were, of course, many places to hide in the grass, so Charity didn't exactly feel safe sleeping here.

You see, she could have been home at that very moment and she dearly wished she was, but…well, it was a long story; her parents had said that something was "wrong" with her, though Charity had absolutely no idea what. Slowly she had begun to put the pieces together and figure out why she was sent away from home to wander without shelter, possibly for the rest of her life, but that is a story for later. It would be useless telling you about it at this very moment.

It had now been a month since Charity had begun to wander all alone, and a week since she'd discovered this path, but she was far from adapted to the uninviting environment and regretted having only brought a knife and a few spiked stones for protection. Now this stranger, whoever they might be, was closer. They definitely knew that Charity was there, she could feel them staring at her, but before they could even reach the clump of trees that Charity had selected as her temporary home, they collapsed in the middle of the road with one last pained groan and laid there breathing in quickly and raggedly.

Charity was utterly horrified. She wanted to help the stranger, she really did, but she was afraid of being hurt in the process. After all, she didn't know this person and the road wasn't usually occupied at night.

_But you could be watching someone die._

At this thought Charity bit her lip, placed her dagger in the leather pouch that hung from the belt around her waist, and walked slowly over to the stranger on the ground.

"Are you alright?" she asked, not knowing what else to say, though it was obvious that this person was indeed not alright.

There was a moment of silence before the stranger responded. Charity had to strain and lean closer to hear, not that it would have made much of a difference at the time if she hadn't. The choppy, breathless phrases she heard hardly made any sense.

"I-it s-s-strikes eight t-times; s-stay away and y-you…you'll be s-safe. It's coming f-for you a-and all the others. W-whatever you do, d-don't touch the…don't touch the…."

"Don't touch the what?" Charity inquired, somehow intrigued by what seemed to be delirious nonsense. This person was very hurt and needed help; Charity was sure she'd brought a medicine bag, there had to be some supplies in there.

"D-don't touch _it_."

"Look, I'm going to help you, okay?" Charity stood from her crouch position and walked hastily over to the tree, grabbing her two sackcloth bags and digging through the smaller one before finally finding the crystal vial wrapped in twigs and leaves and secured by a bit of rope; inside was Charity's most valuable invention, an elixir that no one else could make. She wondered for a moment if this was the exact reason why she'd been shunned by her family before snapping back to reality and rushing back over to the stranger on the ground.

"I'm going to give you a drop of this," Charity said, holding the vial up and carefully pulling out the cork. "I promise it'll work, you just have to swallow it."

The stranger seemed to understand, and as Charity accomplished her usual miracle by giving a little of her special medicine to someone in need, her mind returned to "it…"whatever "it" was.

"Hey," Charity said when the stranger seemed to begin his recovery, "this 'it' thing you told me about...well, what is it?"

The stranger was still pale, but color could be clearly seen as it returned to his face. The gash on his thigh had stopped bleeding and was slowly beginning to close up, and the multicolored streaks that covered the stranger's flesh (though Charity had no idea what they were, she had never seen anything like them before), had faded somewhat. The stranger coughed, blinked, then looked at Charity very firmly and murmured, "Can't say, not here."

Charity furrowed her brow and glanced at the horizon; the sun was just beginning to tinge it pink, and Charity knew that she needed to get a move on if she wanted to make it to Arendelle anytime soon. "Where were you heading?" she asked.

"Same place as you."

Charity was rather taken-aback. "How do you know where I was going?"

"_Shhh_, not here!"

Annoyed, Charity placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "Tell me where I'm going and I won't ask another tricky question."

The stranger sighed, attempting to sit up and succeeding with much effort. "The kingdom by the fjord, Arendelle; and you're going to see the king and queen. You're parents sent you away because-" At this the stranger abruptly stopped, looking as if he had almost revealed a highly classified secret but had stopped himself just in time.

"Because why?"

"I've already said too much. And you promised not to ask any more questions."

"I never promised." Charity smiled. Why she was so drawn to this person, she had no idea, but she felt so comfortable it was like they had been friends for years. "Well, I'm going to leave now. Are you okay?" The stranger certainly seemed better, but then again, not five minutes ago he'd been lying on the ground about to die.

The stranger's eyes widened. "No, you can't go alone, not now that you've heard everything."

"Too bad, you can't stop me." Charity blamed the stranger's ominous statement on exhaustion. It was obvious that he'd been through quite a bit.

"It's for your own protection! I came all this way just to find you, Charity."

Charity bit back a gasp. "How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things."

Charity stood frozen, trying to make sense of all this. "Fine, you can come with me, but on one condition."

"Alright, what is it?"

"Tell me _your_ name."

The stranger smiled, getting to his feet, and replying with, "Awiergan Stone. Thanks for joining us, Charity, you should be honored. You and I are about to change the world."

**A/N: So what did you think? Is the plot too predictable? Too fast-paced? Please review and tell me what you think! And yes, this is still very much related to Frozen.**

**And for hints about what's to come in the story, look up the meaning of every name of every person that's mentioned, even the original Frozen characters. I always try to add meaning to every little detail in my stories, and doing some research could maybe help you figure out the plot. ;)**


	4. Voices

**A/N: I can't believe I've already posted four chapters of this story! Thank you so much to everyone who's followed, favorited, and reviewed. I greatly appreciate it. The update is going to be fairly short, so I might write another today. Enjoy!**

Elsa highly regretted ignoring Anna again; she knew it was tearing her sister apart bit by bit, and more than anything she wanted that to end.

The light rain shower that had begun earlier was gradually developing into a downpour. The streets were nearly empty and Elsa wondered, though she had no control over water that hadn't solidified, if her emotions were affecting the weather. Death on top of worry on top of fear of one's self was something that she most certainly did _not _need to be experiencing, especially now, and to her dismay Elsa had noticed that all of Arendelle was colder. In addition to this, she'd gone for a walk in the garden last week and it had starting sleeting. The storm had continued for about an hour longer after Elsa had rushed inside, terrified.

"That's it!" she declared to herself, standing up and marching over to the door. "I've had it. If anyone can make me feel better, Anna most certainly can." And with that Elsa placed her hand firmly on the doorknob and turned it, pushing open the door that had separated her from the world for all these years. Outside the hall was empty and Elsa was glad as she left footprints made of ice behind her. She wove through passageways and strode through doors, the way to her old room still etched into her mind. Finally she found Anna's door and smiled sadly as memories flooded back to her: the way they used to play at night when the whole castle was asleep; the way they would sing each other lullabies or recite poetry; the way that they would sneak some extra chocolate after dessert and build snowmen and just _be together_. They were inseparable the first few years of their lives, and as Elsa reflected on this she realized that all she really wanted in the world was to have this back. Sisters are not meant to be separated, she supposed, and when they are it turns for the worst.

So Elsa knocked upon the door before her, hoping that Anna was behind it, and was pleased when she got an answer: "Who is it?" came a voice.

Elsa opened her mouth to speak, but her thoughts were faster than her words. _You aren't supposed to be doing this. Remember, it's for her well-being._

_No, _came another smaller voice in the back of Elsa's mind. _If anything this is good for Anna and you too._

Elsa sighed and let the dominant voice win. Yes, this was dangerous, and yes, Anna's isolation was for her well-being.

So Elsa slowly paced away, defeated by herself, and made her way back to her room with no memory of getting there.

**A/N: I'm so sorry about the length! I'll try my very best to post another chapter today, but since I want my next update to be long, it might come out tomorrow. Thank you for reading!**


	5. The End of Infinity

**A/N: For those of you who are up-to-date with this story: I've posted a new prologue that you should probably check out before reading this chapter. As you can see I've also changed my summary, as this story's plot is going to change even more than I thought it would; basically I'm going to go back and forth between Elsa and Anna and Charity and Awiergan. I'll try to make my chapters longer as well.**

**Another thing (sorry if my author's notes are getting annoying), it was pointed out in one of my reviews that I stated in the last chapter that Anna is being isolated. In the movie it does seem like Elsa is the one who's alone, but when I say that Anna is isolated I mean that she's away from her sister, and for all Elsa knows (the chapter was focusing on her) she doesn't interact with anyone else. I'm sorry if this was unclear.**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

"And the significance of this is…?" Charity whispered from under her cloak.

"I've already told you twice," Awiergan mumbled back, obviously frustrated.

"Well maybe I didn't understand," Charity snapped. Traveling with someone she hardly knew was beginning to wear on her, especially since Awiergan was so secretive; he had hardly told her anything. The most common reply she received was, "I can't tell you here," and genuinely all Charity wanted was to get to wherever the safe place was that had been briefly mentioned a few days ago so that she could fully understand what she was doing before her head exploded.

Yes, she was the kind of person who hated to be kept in the dark, especially when it came to personal situations. As far as she could tell, this mission that she was on had everything to do with her, and not knowing what was going to happen next was driving her insane.

"How old are you anyway?" It was a random question, and Charity knew it was rather rude, but for some reason it had been nagging her for days. Besides, Awiergan didn't seem to be easily bothered, and Charity had good reason for asking this.

"What?"

"Well, if you know so much, then either you learned it really quickly or you're older than you look."

"You never stop asking questions, do you?"

Charity shrugged, smirking. "Are you going to answer?"

Awiergan sighed. There was no reason that he couldn't reply to this. However, he could still do it subtly. "Very, very old, or at least to you I am."

"That's not an answer."

"I'll tell you if you tell me."

"Fine, I'm fourteen."

"Alright then, I'm…" Awiergan thought for a moment, then counted on his fingers, then did it again just to be sure, and finally said, "one-thousand two-hundred eighty-six."

"Okay," Charity replied, "that's understandable I guess."

"What are you saying? Never mind, just be quiet, we're getting close."

Charity did as she was told, though she longed to ask where they were going. All she knew was that they were walking the streets of Arendelle just below the castle and were heading towards the edge of a cliff. In fact, they strode right up to the edge of it before they stopped. Charity wondered if they were going to jump.

"Listen," Awiergan said, "listen very closely, and no more questions. We're here for a single purpose, and we'll do nothing else. Just follow me, no hesitation, you got it?"

Charity thought about was she'd just heard, a want for inquiry threatening to boil over in her mind, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Good; you should probably stand directly behind me since this is your first time."

Charity moved to stand behind the tall, hooded figure, concealed from all sight, and heard, very vaguely, something being muttered in a language she didn't know. However, she could remember the words very clearly, and what she heard was this:

_Peto ab accessu ad lītus cavernis regni custos Infinitum. Ego tenebris et habitare vis ignota. Magister iubeo dies: ut elementa sint. _

There was a blinding flash of light before Charity heard a rushed whisper instructing her to jump. She remembered that she'd been told not to hesitate, but surely complying couldn't be the smartest thing to do…however, curiosity won over common sense, and Charity took a bold step forward before propelling herself upward, into the light, and falling down, down, down, feeling the swoop in her belly that signified her decent.

The things that flashed before Charity's eyes were indescribable to say the least; she literally _saw _infinity as a whole, and she, as she fell, felt herself drawing near to the end of it. She was close, she could sense it somehow; who knew that there was an end to infinity anyway?

_Thump._

Charity winced, knowing that she had just landed. She refused to open her eyes, but when the realization dawned on her that she didn't feel any pain, her eyelids slowly separated and she was greeted by the sight of the roof of a cave; it was color that she'd never seen before. It almost looked like it was impossible for it to exist on earth. She sat up and looked around; the entire cavern was the same color, and it was very vast and smelled of a warm summer night. It was lightly illuminated, and in the very center sat what looked like a table made out crystals. It was divided into thirds; one appeared to be made out of every kind of mineral every discovered, the second seemed to be fashioned out of onyx, and the last third was simple wood, though it gave off a slight glow.

_Where am I?_ Charity asked herself, looking around, to be answered by a voice behind her.

"You are at the end of infinity."

Charity spun around, but no one was there. Who had read her thoughts? Or had she actually spoken without realizing it? "Where is the end of infinity?"

"The end of space, the end of the universe altogether; it can only be accessed by members of the Society."

"The Society?"

"Charity, come here."

Now the girl turned around again, utterly confused, to see Awiergan standing near the table.

"What happened?" Charity asked. "How did we get here?"

"It's hard to explain, and besides, it's not my place to do it."

Charity furrowed her brow. "I'm tired of being left out of everything. Who's job is it to tell me what this is all about, because I would like to know."

"It is mine; have patience."

It was the same voice that Charity had heard before, and just as she was wondering where the body to this voice was, a figure began to appear from thin air, illuminating the cave furthermore. Like most things at the end of infinity, there were no words that could match what this thing looked like. The closest Charity could get to describing it was a human just like her, but with more…dimensions, color, definition. This figure _looked _like infinity itself.

"What are you?" Charity asked, rather bluntly, causing Awiergan to roll his eyes.

"I am the Master, and you must be Charity. I've heard about you. Welcome, you are the fifth to be discovered."

"Discovered?"

"Yes. You're a Lux, an elemental."

"Elemental?"

"You have control over light."

"What do you mean control? That's impossible."

"Well, you're at the end of infinity, aren't you?" Awiergan interjected. "That's pretty impossible too, isn't it? Everything that's happening is impossible. Your elixir is impossible, and it's also the reason why you should be accepted into the Society."

"My elixir isn't impossible," Charity replied, "it's not like I…." she trailed off, reconsidering what she was about to say. Yes, it was indeed impossible; the key ingredient was moonlight.

**A/N: Sorry if it was too fast-paced; I hope it wasn't corny, when I was reading it I did quite a bit of editing to make it more believable, so I might work on it more later. Please review and tell me what you thought.**

**Translations: **_**Peto ab accessu ad lītus cavernis regni custos Infinitum. Ego tenebris et habitare vis ignota. Magister iubeo dies: ut elementa sint. **_**This is Latin for: I request access from the Watcher of the kingdom by the fjord to the Caverns of Infinity. I am darkness, and with me dwells an unknown force. I bid the Master good day; may the elements prevail. **_**Tenebrae: **_**Latin for darkness. **_**Lux: **_**Latin for light.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-Dare**


	6. Where Darkness Hides

Elsa had begun to have nightmares; no, not the kind of nightmares that you might have every once in a while, the ones that seem so silly after you wake up, but the utterly horrific kind that burden you every night until you finally decide not to sleep at all.

Her most common dream began in a forest. She was walking through it, lost, as the moon shone up above to cast an eerie light down on the ground. She would walk for hours, days, months, years, she didn't know how long, until finally she came upon an old wooden doorframe in the middle of the clearing.

This doorframe was empty and sat without any clear purpose whatsoever. Ivy had grown up around it, twisting in intricate patterns as the wood rotted underneath. The ivy covered most of the symbols carved into the wooden structure, runes, perhaps. Elsa had traced the visible markings with her finger, trying to make out what they meant, but with no avail.

The dream would continue into a nightmare from there, for Elsa was always drawn to those rune-like carvings and always had to inspect them. Then she'd begin to follow a strict routine, though she never remembered that she was repeating herself in the dream. When she was awake she had actually written down what happened after it had remained the exact same five times straight.

Elsa would, instead of simply walking around the doorframe, step through it to get to other side. Yes, going through the doorframe, not around, is the choice that might come to your mind first, but in this case going through it is a very, very bad idea.

It is a portal to fear.

Elsa would fall into darkness for what seemed like all eternity, searching desperately for something to hold on to, groping around in the pitch black, until finally she'd hit the bottom of the pit.

This wasn't at all a good thing. With the impact came unimaginable pain, so intense, in fact, that it couldn't even be _described _as pain. It felt like all the agony and discomfort Elsa had ever experienced in her life, both physical and emotional, had suddenly been brought down upon her in one solid blow. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream, she could only lie still as she bore through something worse than agony for what felt like forever.

When finally it ended, Elsa would remain still for a moment, mind muddled by what she had just experienced, until she saw a very faint blue light in the distance. She would stand up slowly and begin to make her way towards it, but she couldn't reach it; it was almost as if the light was running away from her. She would run, jump, do anything to get out of this vast nothingness, until finally it all faded out to white and she found herself in a small room with no windows, no doors, just blank gray walls and a crystal chandelier that held black candles hanging from the ceiling.

"Elsa…." a voice would call, loud but barely above a whisper. "Elsa…." It would reverberate all around, coming from nowhere and everywhere. "Elsa…."

Elsa would look around for the source of the voice until finally she gave up, clasping her hands over her ears as she tried to block it out. It was driving her insane, it was taking over her mind, and it wouldn't end. It couldn't be muffled or cut off, it was just there and that was that.

"Stop!" Elsa shouted, nearing insanity as her name echoed around the room in that wicked voice.

Finally, the calling ceased, leaving a ringing silence behind.

Elsa knelt on the floor with her hands still covering her ears. Her eyes had been clamped shut, and when she opened them she found none other than Anna in front of her, maybe around twelve years old, staring at her in terror.

"Anna?" Elsa gasped, trying to make sense of what was happening. "Is that you? How are you – why are you – ?"

"Get away from me!" Anna pressed herself against the wall and covered her eyes, flinching as if someone was going to strike her.

"Anna, it's me; i-it's your sister, Elsa."

Anna just shook her head and pushed harder against the wall. "I hate you!"

"What?" Elsa asked, taken aback.

"All you do is shut me out! You hate me so I hate you back!"

"I would never hate you, Anna," Elsa replied, trying to reason with her sister. "I love you, and I always will. Nothing can ever change that."

"Liar!" Anna spat, suddenly going from frightened to angry. "If you love me, then why did you try to kill me with your powers?"

Elsa shook her head. "It was an accident. I slipped and fell; I couldn't aim properly."

"Then what excuse do you have for Mama and Papa?"

"What do you mean?" Elsa asked. "That wasn't my fault."

"Of course it was!" Anna was outraged now. "You're the one who created that storm! Their death is your doing!"

"I have no control over weather, Anna." Now Elsa was confused; she knew that her sister wasn't like this. Her waking self was beginning to resurface.

"Lies, so many lies for all these years." Anna shook her head, her voice quiet now. "I'm done with you." She turned her back and walked through the wall, leaving to Elsa to stand in shock as a single tear ran down her face.

"Anna!" Elsa called out, running up to the wall and pounding on it furiously. "Anna, come back! Please! I'm sorry! I didn't _want _to shut you out! It was for your own protection! Come back! _Come back_!"

"I'm here, Elsa."

Elsa spun around to see a five-year-old Anna, taking no notice of the age difference. "Thank goodness!"

Anna smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could utter a word, she gasped in pain and dropped to her knees.

"What's wrong?" Elsa asked, trying to run over to her sister, but only to find that she was frozen in place. "Anna!"

A trail of blood slowly began to crawl down Anna's arm as she remained gasping on the floor. It trickled down to her hand and dripped onto the ground; this continued until there was a puddle of blood, and all Elsa could do was stand and watch. Then slowly Anna faded away, barely breathing, as did the room around her, until Elsa was once again left in darkness.

"Anna?" she called, looking around, only to be met with the same blank scene. "Anna!"

"You need to be quiet, Elsa," said a voice out of the darkness that couldn't be described using human words. "They're looking for you. When they find you you'll die."

Elsa didn't know how to respond with anything other than, "Who are you? _What _are you?"

"I am many things. I am fear, I am pain, I am rejection, I am dread, I am anger, I am hate, I am cruelty, I am darkness, and I am evil."

A shiver ran down Elsa's spine. She wanted out of this place and she wanted out now. "Leave me alone!" she screamed. "Just leave!"

"I can never leave, not unless you allow me."

"I just told you to!" Elsa shouted. "Go, you have permission!" She had no idea why she was suddenly so irate, but she wanted to kill this creature.

"No, I do not. I am inside of you; I am the darkest part of your mind."

"You have to leave!" Elsa was frantic now. She wanted to run, but she couldn't.

"Soon, very soon; you've been an excellent host, plenty of pain, plenty of fear. I _live _off of these things; if you want me to leave then you have to _eliminate them_."

_Anna, _Elsa thought, _I need to get to Anna. _She sprinted across the blackness, desperate to find the one person who truly made her happy. "Anna!" she screeched. "Anna, where are you?"

Then the whispering began again. "Elsa…Elsa…."

"No!" Elsa ran faster. "Stop!"

"Elsa…." The voice was louder now. "Elsa…." It began to increase to a yell. "Elsa…!" Then it screamed. It screamed everywhere and there was no escape. "_Elsa_...! _Elsa_…!"

"No, no, NO!" Elsa fell to the ground, sobbing, overcome by her fear. "No…no…_no_…."

And that was when she would wake up, drenched in a cold sweat with tears covering her pale face. She would lie there gasping, mind working furiously, until finally she would realize that she had escaped from that hellish nightmare at last. It was all over and she was never going to relive it.

That is, until tomorrow night...

**A/N: So how was it? I tried to make this chapter a little dark, but I'm usually not so good at writing nightmares. Please leave constructive criticism and suggestions. Reviews really encourage me to do better and continue writing!**

**I'm guessing this story will be about twenty chapters long, maybe more. I'm thinking about making this a series since I have lots of ideas for it.**

**I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!**

**-Dare**


	7. Reality's End

**A/N: Hello again! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I thought I'd let you know that I'll be going on a trip in a little over a week, so I won't be able to write during that period of time. Enjoy this chapter!**

_Don't feel, don't feel, don't feel…._

Elsa hadn't slept for days, and it was beginning to wear on her. She wasn't the kind of person who got exceptionally tired at night and felt as if she needed to close her eyes and rest when it got dark, but after almost seven restless nights Elsa's powers were spiking to an unstoppable range.

Her room had become completely encased in a sheet of ice about an inch thick; the floor was covered with snow and flakes flurried out of nowhere, adding to the drifts in the four corners of the room. It was very quiet, too quiet, and Elsa hated that. She'd tried to go to Anna many times now, but that voice in her head always won, so she'd resorted to sitting in bed amongst the frozen covers and having conversations with herself. There was nothing else to do; the princess was riddled with delirium and sleep deprivation and she was utterly alone; her thought process was foggy and she was starting to have frequent hallucinations of a girl with red hair and blue eyes visiting her room and trying to converse with her.

"Elsa," she'd whisper to herself, "this needs to stop. Go to sleep."

But she was too afraid of the monster that visited her in her dreams, of seeing Anna die and reject her, of walking through that empty doorframe in the forest. It was just so vivid, every bit of it, and the fact that Elsa couldn't control anything encouraged her to stay awake even longer.

At night she would keep her eyes wide, sitting in the freezing darkness and staring at the shadow in the corner. She was convinced that it was staring at her, ready to kill, but it never moved. It just remained where it was until Elsa shouted at it to go away, and it did.

Occasionally she would snap back to reality and realize that she needed to either rest or get help, but as soon as she felt ready to leave her room she would smile and ask herself what she was doing. No, she couldn't leave, outside there was nothing, just empty space filled by silence…so much silence….

And then there was the chant, the one Elsa lived by. _Don't feel. _She would repeat this over and over and over again, having no idea why she was doing so. It was an obsession, her personal mantra. _Don't feel…don't feel…._

And yes, outside of Elsa's solitary desolation, Anna's visits still continued, but she'd usually abstain from knocking after hearing soft laughter and a voice that sounded much too distant from reality for her liking.

Perhaps it was insanity, perhaps it was only exhaustion, perhaps it was extreme lonesomeness, for it was clear that Elsa had been alone for much too long. Or perhaps it was that patch of sunlight on the floor; the one that sat independently, that seemed to be alive….

Elsa just needed to rest, that was the simple solution, but what would you do if your dreams were haunted by your own mind and there was nothing you could do to cast it away?

**A/N: Sorry it's so short! I'll try to update again today. I'm not letting my research on sleep deprivation go to waste! Thanks for reading, please leave constructive criticism and ideas (I have writers block, triple ugh), your reviews really motivate me! Speaking of, thanks to everyone who's left one, followed, and favorited! See you soon.**

**-Dare**


	8. Dreamwalker

Over a century's-worth of memory was stamped into Charity's mind; it all seemed like the blink of an eye, and she knew that there was much more to come. The streets of Arendelle had been her home for many years now and she had the intentions of leaving very, very soon. She just needed to find the last remaining two for the Society, that was all. Her plan was simple, begin with the more powerful one first, then continue on to her younger sister. She just hoped that the Curse wouldn't strike first….

Over the years she had, being a Lux, learned to travel by and assume of form of a sunbeam, which was coming in handy today. She was already at the foot of the castle, out of sight in a pine tree. Thin rays of light were filtering through the dark green needles, and already she was going over what she had to do in her mind. She'd studied the layout of the castle thoroughly and at last she'd found the eldest princess's room. She planned to enter through the window and invade the girl's dreams, then continue until she felt that the girl was ready to meet her in person….

Yes, it was a rather feeble idea, and yes, most people would either think that it was a coincidence or they might be wrong in the head if they encountered someone from their dream in real life, but Charity was certain it would work, it had to; it was her duty to gather everyone required.

Even now she was already conforming herself to blend in with one of the thin rays of light that was cast upon the branch that supported her. She was carrying herself up, very carefully, following the glowing path that lay before her. Beneath her the ground grew less detailed as she continued upward, until at last she came in contact with the window and willed herself through it, landing on something cold and finally conforming back into her human form.

Well, it was rather obvious that this girl was a Glaciem; the whole room was covered in brittle frost (which caused Charity difficulty in crossing the room quietly). The expression on her face, even though she was asleep, was one of great worry. Charity watched her for a moment for any indication of wakefulness, and after about five minutes or so placed her hand on the princess's forehead.

Charity concentrated; this was her first time to enter someone's dream, and she had to admit that she was very nervous. Slowly, darkness began to creep along the edges of her vision and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, until at last she was completely consumed by the blackness around her.

"Hello?" She looked around, searching for the sleeping girl. Before long she found her, sprawled not ten feet away, still breathing deeply with her eyes shut. Charity closed the gap between her and the princess and bent down, shaking her awake.

"Anna," the girl muttered, "go back to sleep." There was a pause before, "What do you mean the sky's awake?" and then she opened her eyes. A dream within a dream, Charity assumed, as she smiled at the girl lying on the ground. "Who are you?" she murmured. "You're not Anna."

"I'm Charity, what's your name?" Charity replied, not knowing what else to say.

"Why do you want to know?" the girl yawned, blinking the drowsiness away and slowly sitting up. "Am I still dreaming?"

"Uh, yes," Charity replied, "but I'd really like to know your name. I have good reason."

The princess shrugged. "I'm Elsa. You know, this is rather odd, I've never had a conversation in a dream," yawn, "before."

"Um…" Charity looked around, "well, neither have I, at least not like this…."

"I usually don't have dreams," Elsa yawned again, her thoughts obviously still muddled. "They're always weird, or fuzzy, or scary, but this one is just so real."

"Right, listen, I need to show you something," Charity said, standing up. "Uh, do you know how we leave this…whatever it is?"

Elsa shrugged. "I…don't…" yawn, "know."

Charity tried to concentrate on her chosen destination, she tried with all her might, but ultimately she realized her failure as soon she saw that she'd landed herself in a forest. It was dim and dank and cast a rather unsettling aura; Charity knew what this meant. _Oh no, please don't tell me I just created a nightmare. Please, please, please…._

The worst part, however, was that Elsa was nowhere to be seen. Charity looked around frantically, the realization dawning on her that entering a dream without help was a really horrible idea, but all she saw in the mossy clearing was an empty doorframe.

"No, no, no, it wasn't supposed to go like this. What if you've trapped her here? What if she never wakes up?" This was indeed possible to trap someone in their own nightmare, and Charity dearly hoped that she hadn't done just that. "Hey…what's this?"

She hadn't taken much notice of the doorframe in the center of the clearing before now, but she saw that it was carved with intricate runes. In fact, now that she studied them more, she realized that they were the kind that could be used to curse an object. She studied them but they were simply too complex to translate. After inspecting the entire doorframe, she began to focus on bringing Elsa back, but at last she gave up her efforts and left the dream, hoping that the next morning Elsa wouldn't be trapped inside what Charity had created.

"You're so stupid!" she told herself once she had reached the edge of the fjord and sat with her feet in the cool water. "You should have experimented with yourself first! Invading dreams in dangerous and you know that. You were warned of it many times; now she might _never _wake up and it'll be all your fault!"

So Charity made a mental note to check on Elsa tomorrow morning before anyone was awake. There was a chance that she hadn't done anything wrong, but she'd been told multiple times never to enter a dream without her crystal.

**A/N: I've decided to make this a three-part series; this part will probably be around ten chapters long. I would make this all one story but I have some ideas that I'd like to write and I'd prefer to completely focus on that, so I'll be completing this section of the story and then taking a break. Thanks for reading and please review!**

**-Dare**

**P.S. Glaciem means ice in Latin.**


	9. The Threat

**A/N: Hello! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while; I've been on vacation and therefore I haven't had time to write, plus I've been devoid of any ideas at all whatsoever (which is why this is so short). Enjoy!**

Elsa rubbed her eyes, vaguely taking note that they were sunken in. Nearly a week had passed since she'd gotten any shut-eye. It was having an odd but rather predictable effect now: she felt separated from reality, especially when she was visited by the girl with red hair or that shadow in the corner, yet somehow she didn't mind. She knew in the back of her head she knew that eventually her body would _make _her sleep and she'd have to face her nightmares, but not now, not right this instant.

_Knock knock. _

Someone rapped on the door. Wait, had they really? Or was it Elsa's imagination? She smiled at the thought; imagination was a wonderful thing. She could escape from the world whenever she wanted….

As the hours trudged by slowly, Elsa played with a snowflake hovering over her palm for quite some time as the frozen precipitation continued to flurry down from nowhere, creating a drift that covered the princess's feet.

But not five minutes later, she began to hallucinate again. She looked up to see her most common guest standing by the window, looking immensely worried and glancing around the room with a slight shiver.

"This has to stop," the visitor said. "Can you hear me? Please tell me you can hear me."

Elsa glanced up and laughed. "Of course I can hear you. Isn't it wonderful?" She gestured around the room. "It's so cold and dark. I finally feel at home."

The visitor shook her head and paced over to Elsa, grabbing her by the shoulders shaking her out of pure desperation. "Snap out of it!" she demanded. "Go to sleep."

Elsa frowned and looked down at her bare, ungloved hands. "But sleeping makes…_it_ come."

The visitor sighed, shame and heartbreak evident in her eyes. She bit her lip and said, "I'll make the monster go away, you just have to close your eyes and rest."

But Elsa didn't want to. She wasn't ready! "I can't!" She pulled her feet out of the mound of snow that she'd created. "I'm afraid." Hugging her legs to her chest, she slowly began to rock back and forth.

The red-headed girl sucked in a breath, wincing as Elsa scratched at a painful-looking sty on her eyelid, though the princess showed no indication of having registered discomfort. It was now, at this moment, when Charity really wished she could just forget trying to gather all eight Elementals and back out of the mission. Why not just go back to life as it was and wander the world, lost with no purpose? Awiergan was gone, who knew what had become of Charity's family, and now…now she'd failed her task. She hated the Curse, she hated that it was targeting Elsa, she hated – wait, targeting Elsa? No, all it had done was send some sort of creature to haunt her dreams, make her weaker. But the Curse had to be present, otherwise that wouldn't be possible.

The realization smacked Charity full in the face like a well-aimed blow: Elsa was just a subject of torture, a sick, twisted game that _It_ played with its secondary victims. Elsa's sister, Anna, she was an Ignis…so that meant….

"Elsa, show me where your sister is. Please, this is important."

Thankfully Elsa seemed just lucid enough to comprehend Charity's request. She slowly stood from her frosted bed, her movements robotic and forced, too tired to protest.

_And if worst comes to worst, _Charity thought, _just remember that you're doing this for Awiergan._

**A/N: Ignis is Latin for fire.**


	10. Living Darkness

**A/N: Last chapter in this section of the Fire and Ice series! I can't wait to start working on the next one. In the meantime, I might do a few one-shots before I begin Darkness and Light (part two). Enjoy!**

Anna knew something was wrong with her sister, she was just too afraid to go to her and force herself into Elsa's bedroom to see what on earth was going on. She'd pressed her ear against the wall and heard a one-sided conversation or faint laughter or absolute, terrifying silence far too many times. She was too afraid that she'd open the door after so many years only to see her sister broken and defeated or worse.

Anna wasn't doing much better herself. Her room had grown warmer, and the fireplace blazed brighter every time she gave it a mere glance. At night she'd sit, huddled in a blanket on the floor, thinking of her parents, and she'd bite her lip until it bled to choke back the sobs that rose up in her chest. She was too weak to do anything else; life was falling apart, and all Anna could do was watch. She hated that, she hated the inevitable destruction of her joy and comfort and everything good and happy and bright in general. That included her sister.

Now Anna was watching the space around her grow darker, darker, darker, as the sun set below the shining waters of the fjord. She imagined it, staining the water all hues of red, just like her fire. Just like the sparks that flew around her now in a fiery spiral. Despite this, the room was all too cold for Anna's liking. Shadows had nestled in the corners and it felt to her like they were watching, watching her every move. Watching her downfall and laughing at her defeat.

The lonely atmosphere was too quiet; Anna's own mind was driving her crazy. She pushed her hair away from her face and rubbed her temples, trying to quiet her screaming thoughts. More than anything she wanted it to end. Just to fall asleep for one night and settle into peaceful blackness. No dreams, good or bad, no more horrific fantasies about what was happening on the other side of Elsa's door. Anna focused on the tunnel of sparks surrounding her, and somehow this calmed her racing thought-process and quieted it. At long last, she was having a moment of peace.

But what was that? Anna snapped her head around, facing the area in which she had seen movement out of the corner of her eye. The only thing there was bitter, blank darkness, nothing more. Anna laughed at herself for being so silly. She needed to take another walk; the isolation was slowly resulting in paranoia. However, she had undeniably seen and heard some unexplainable things. Naturally, all of these thoughts came rushing to the front of her mind, as they always do whenever something happens that makes your skin crawl.

And there it was again: the whispering had returned. It didn't come from a fixed location, it was almost as if it was emitting from everywhere, from the air itself. Anna could tell it was external; it wasn't her imagination playing one of its cruel tricks. It reverberated off the walls and ceiling, unintelligible, almost gibberish-like, but it wasn't. It almost sounded like a different language.

When it reached an unbearable volume, Anna leapt up from her spot on the floor, stood there paralyzed for a moment, and ran to the door as fast as her stiff legs would allow her. She flung it open and sprinted down the hall, praying she wouldn't encounter anyone. She ran until she came upon the embellished door, the one that taunted her in her sleep, and tried the knob before she could stop herself.

It turned.

And Anna cracked open the door only to be hit by a blast of icy air. The room was frozen over, encased in a winter chill.

And there was Elsa, sitting on the bed. But she was hardly alone.

There, in front of her, was girl with crimson hair and turquoise eyes. Her face was youthful, but her expression and demeanor altogether gave away years of timeless wisdom. And somehow Anna knew her name. She had no idea how, but it escaped her lips as soon as it entered her mind.

"Charity?"

And it was clear that Anna had said the perfect thing at the perfect time, because as soon as she did the girl whom she'd recognized smiled for the first time in so many years; Anna was alive, she thought. Anna was alive and well and healthy.

"Anna…" but Charity never continued. She saw the scar on the back of Anna's hand and all life drained from her eyes. The Curse had done its work. It was finished; there was nothing Charity could do. It was only a matter of time before Arendelle was engulfed in flames and the Elementals were broken.

And later than night, the waters of the fjord itself had begun to simmer. Fire and ice were defeated. Charity was helpless and desperate. A number of solutions ran through her mind at the speed of light, but only one remained by the time she had singled out the plans that were reliable and had even just slight a possibility of working. It was next to impossible, but it could become successful.

Maybe Charity hadn't failed after all.

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I can't believe I finished this, I wasn't sure if I would or not. I hope this chapter satisfied you, just remember it isn't the end. I think I might start listening to music while I write; I had Nothing Left to Say by Imagine Dragons stuck in my head while working on this, which is kind of the perfect song for this story. Anyway, please leave a review and tell me what you thought, I'd love to hear from you. See you soon!**

**-Dare**


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